1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to an apparatus for the embroidery of surface-shaped sewing material on a column-type, or free arm-type, sewing machine.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for the embroidery of surface-shaped material on a free-arm sewing machine or a column sewing machine, which inventive apparatus includes a distance adapter capable of being docked onto the column, or the free arm, of the sewing machine with which an embroidery frame is able to be shifted in the X- and Y-directions by drive means, so that the entire surface of the sewing material clamped into the embroidery frame is able to be embroidered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The production of embroidery patterns by using sewing machines, especially household sewing machines, is known. For that purpose, the surface-shaped sewing material, i.e., the embroidery substrate, is clamped into an embroidery frame and the embroidery frame is moved by a drive (capable of moving the embroidery frame in the X- and Y-directions) in accordance with the embroidery pattern.
The drive of the embroidery frame is located in a housing, which can be docked onto the free arm of the sewing machine. The housing is connected to the rear of the free arm and/or the base plate via a coupling, which provides the mechanical link. The embroidery frame, movable by the drive, normally features a width which is approximately equivalent to the distance between the sewing machine pillar and the needle, and a length which, in any event, amounts to double the width. This embroidery surface, which is relatively small and limited by the construction of the particular sewing machine, does not lend itself well to larger, continuous embroidery patterns; it is intended primarily for the embroidery of monograms or individual items.
In the case of single-purpose sewing machines and that of special sewing machines, which feature an integrated drive component for the embroidery frame in the area of the machine stand, the use of embroidery frames with two or four embroidery fields is known. Such embroidery frames feature two adjacent frame couplings each, and means by which the rectangular embroidery frame can be connected to the embroidery machine (or the embroidery-frame drive) at two adjacent points; the square embroidery frame, with four embroidery fields, features four couplings and can, therefore, be coupled at four points for the processing of one quadrant each. Alternatively, the offtakes can be infinitely shiftable and adjustable along the embroidery frame.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for the embroidery of surface-shaped sewing material on a column-type, or free arm-type, sewing machine, which is capable of being docked onto the column or free arm of the sewing machine and with which an embroidery frame is capable of being more readily shifted in the X- and Y-directions by drive means.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an embroidery-frame drive for column-type sewing machines and free arm-type sewing machines, with which embroidery frames with single to multiple standard embroidery surfaces can be driven.
The foregoing and related objects are achieved by the inventive apparatus for the embroidery of surface-shaped sewing material on a free arm or column sewing machine, which includes an embroidery device. With the embroidery device, an embroidery frame is able to be shifted in the X- and Y-directions by drive means, so that the entire surface of the sewing material, which is clamped into the embroidery frame, is able to be embroidered. The claimed apparatus includes a distance adapter, which is inserted between the embroidery device, with the drive for the embroidery frame, and the sewing machine. The distance adapter increases the distance between the embroidery device and the needle of the sewing machine. A plurality of receiving accommodations are formed at the embroidery frame, so that with the receiving accommodations, the embroidery frame with its drive means is able to be connected to the embroidery device.
Inserting a distance adapter between the free arm or the column of the sewing machine and the embroidering device with the embroidering frame drive arranged in it, makes it possible to utilize, to the fullest extent, the space available between the needle axis and the pillar of the sewing machine on which the free arm is fixed.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the accessories box (in which the sewing utensils can be accommodated) and which is attached to the underarm when no narrow tube-shaped parts are being worked) forms the distance adapter. As a consequence, no additional machine parts must be stored or purchased in order to turn a sewing machine and an embroidering device into one whose use makes it possible to process embroidery surfaces several times larger.